Sarah is a Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability (Royal Roads University) and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo. As a shamelessly interdisciplinary and pragmatic scholar, her research program draws insights from social and environmental psychology, sociology, cognitive-affective sciences, communications studies, and water and environmental governance. Her research is focused on the affective (emotional) drivers of:
- climate change and water behaviours, ranging from the household to governance dynamics;
- water, wastewater, and climate communications; and
- interdisciplinary environmental education, knowledge retention and behavioural intent (new 2021).
Sarah's research program, and graduate students’ ongoing work through the SEE Lab, has been primarily funded by SSHRC. New projects on the affective drivers within post-secondary education, linking researchers at the University of Waterloo, University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, has been funded by a three-year SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (2021). Other current research relates to awe and water as funded through a two-year SSHRC Insight Development grant (2019) while ongoing mortality fear and water decisions is supported by a four-year SSHRC Insight grant (2018). Previous ‘water cognition’ research was funded by a SSHRC Insight Development grant (2012) and then a SSHRC Connection (2014) grant.